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Overview
Take a good look at the American West and you'll see that the frontier is undergoing constant changes—not only changes made to the land but also changes in attitudes about the land held by the people who live there. In this book Mike Davis, Stephen Pyne, William deBuys, Donald Worster, Dan Flores, and others re-examine the relationship between people and the environment in the American West over five hundred years, from the legacy of Coronado's search for the Cities of Gold to the social costs of tourism and gaming inflicted by modern adventurers. By exploring places in the West, aspects of the region's past, and ways of understanding some of its pressing issues, the authors foster a better understanding of how people interact and perceive land. Reopening the American West takes a fresh approach to the history of the region, examining the premises of earlier scholars as well as those who have redefined the study of the West over the past two decades. It combines provocative essays with insightful analyses to address issues that are representative of the West in the twentieth century—multiculturalism, water issues, resource exploitation—and to reopen the West for all readers interested in new ways of looking at its wide-open spaces. CONTENTS
Places
Dreams of Earth, William deBuys Environmentalism and Multiculturalism, Dan L. Flores Pyre on the Mountain, Stephen J. Pyne Las Vegas Versus Nature, Mike Davis
Pasts
The Legacy of John Wesley Powell, Donald Worster Pokey’s Paradox: Tourism and Transformation on the Western Navajo Reservation, Hal Rothman Negotiating National Identity: Western Tourism and "See American First," MargueriteSchaffer
Understanding
Place Humanists at the Headgates, Helen Ingram Tapping the Rockies: Resource Exploitation and Conservation in the Intermountain West, Char Miller The Meaning of Place: Reimagining Community in a Changing West, Robert Gottlieb
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Any person concerned not only with the past but the present and future of this remarkable place and space called the American West will find that reading and contemplating these essays is an excellent investment of time." —Password"An important snapshot of current scholarship in environmental history . . . Taken together, the selections focus on place and past, identifying historical problems that still seek solutions in the present day. Taken as individual pieces, the essays demonstrate a kind of intellectual wandering that is as braod as the region it seeks to understand."
—Journal of the West"Those interested in environmental and related issues of the American West will find this book filled with both old and new insights into the problems facing the area." —Los Angeles Westerners Branding Iron"To the new reader of environmental history, Reopening the American West is a great introduction; to those already familiar with the discussions, this book expands those issues and opens new topics to the field." —Southwestern Historical Quarterly"Thoughtful essays about the realities of the West today and the one we are likely to see in the future." —Book Talk